换牙 (huàn yá) — to lose baby teeth and grow permanent teeth (in children)

Definition

A natural childhood process of losing baby teeth and growing permanent ones (typically ages 6–12). 牙 alone means 'tooth'; 换牙 is the verb phrase for this bodily change, not a medical procedure.

verb
to lose baby teeth and grow permanent teeth (in children)

Examples

  • 换牙。
    Hái zi liù suì kāi shǐ huàn yá.
    Children start to lose their baby teeth at age six.
  • 。
    Tā shàng ge yuè huàn le yì kē yá.
    He lost one baby tooth last month.
  • 换牙。
    Tā de huàn yá guò chéng hěn shùn lì.
    Her tooth-replacement process went smoothly.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

换huànchange
牙yáteeth

The process is described as changing teeth, joining 换 and 牙.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 換; 换 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
奐
奐huàn換huàn
Same sound today

For the traditional form 換, 手 is the hand part and 奐 gives the sound; this note is about 換, not the simplified 换.

Open 换 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 牙 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.